BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Grant Nelson scored 23 points and Aden Holloway had 18 to lead No. 8 Alabama to a 100-87 win over No. 25 Illinois on Wednesday night in a matchup of Elite Eight teams from last season at Legacy Arena.
Freshman Labaron Philon had 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to help the Crimson Tide (4-1) overcome a scoreless night from preseason All-American Mark Sears.
Latrell Wrightsell Jr. also had 16 points for Alabama. Nelson opened the game with three straight 3-pointers.
Will Riley led Illinois (3-1) with 18 points and nine rebounds while Kylan Boswell added 17 and Kasparas Jakucionis had 15. Tomislav Ivisic had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Sears missed all five of his shots, four of them 3-point attempts, and didn't return after heading to the bench with 11:27 left.
Illinois: Fell to 17-19 in Top 25 matchups since the start of the 2019-20 season. The Illini had their first tough test of the season after three double-digit wins.
Alabama: Rebounded strongly from an 87-78 loss at No. 6 Purdue to get a win that should look good on the NCAA Tournament resume. Made four straight 3s and five of six to open the game.
Alabama scored 13 straight points midway through the first half to build a 36-19 lead. Clifford Omoruyi's layup capped the run while Illinois missed 11 straight shots.
The Tide went up by 18 points. Illinois sliced the deficit to eight in the second half but never got closer.
Alabama made 11 of 13 free throws (84.6%). Illinois was just 13 of 24 (54.2%).
Illinois hosts Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday; Alabama faces No. 7 Houston next Tuesday in Las Vegas.
